President Obama smiles with Makenna Hurd of Mascot, Tennessee, and Noah Koch of Waterville, Maine, during the second annual ‘Kids’ State Dinner’, in the East Room of the White House July 9
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More photos and videos from the Kids’ State Dinner in this post
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@petesouza Stylish kid reporters interview Pres Obama at Kids State Dinner. Note photog who will have my job one day
Thank you UT for the beeeeeeautiful post below
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Darlene Superville: Michelle Obama says 54 kids who earned a trip to the White House by winning a nationwide recipe contest are showing how talented, creative and brilliant young people can be. It’s the second year the first lady has hosted the kids’ “state dinner.”
The contest for 8- to 12-year-olds is sponsored by the Epicurious food website and the departments of Agriculture and Education. It drew a batch of more than 1,300 entries that were whittled to 54 winners — one from each of the 50 states, three territories and the District of Columbia.
Mrs. Obama singled out a few of the champion culinary creations during Tuesday’s meal, including Confetti Peanut Ginger Party Pasta from Missouri, Pan-seared Mississippi Catfish on a Bed of River Rice and Slam Dunk Veggie Burger from Texas.
President Barack Obama also made an unannounced appearance at the dinner in the White House East Room. He told the junior chefs they are showing that food can be both healthy and fun.
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President Barack Obama smiles with Makenna Hurd of Mascot, Tennessee, and Noah Koch of Waterville, Maine, during the second annual ‘Kids’ State Dinner’, in the East Room of the White House July 9, 2013 in Washington DC.
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President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama kiss each other at the second annual “Kids’ State Dinner”, to honor the winners of a nationwide recipe challenge to promote healthy lunches, at the White House.
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First Lady Michelle Obama joins in a wave during the Kids’ State Dinner
11:55: First Lady Michelle Obama hosts the second annual Kids’ State Dinner
12:45: Press Briefing by Jay Carney
1:0: Kids State Dinner: Rachel Crow Musical Performance
2:0: Vice President Biden Speaks at Fire Fighter Memorial Service, Prescott Valley, Arizona
All at White House Live
@vj44: Perfect day in DC for the start of the season and visit to the @whitehouse
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Today:
10:20: Live From the Kids’ State Dinner: Entrances (WH Live)
10:30: The President meets with members of the Congressional Black Caucus
10:45: White House Public Health and Climate Change Champions of Change (WH Live)
11:25: Live From the Kids’ State Dinner (WH Live)
11:55: First Lady Michelle Obama hosts the second annual Kids’ State Dinner (WH Live)
12:45: Press Briefing by Jay Carney (WH Live)
1:0: Kids State Dinner: Rachel Crow Musical Performance (WH Live)
2:0: Vice President Biden Speaks at Fire Fighter Memorial Service, Prescott Valley, Arizona (WH Live)
2:35: The President meets with Secretary of the Treasury Lew
4:30: Meets with Secretary of Defense Hagel
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President Obama meets with his Cabinet and senior officials in the Cabinet Room of the White House, July 8 (Photo by Pete Souza)
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NYT: U.S. Considers Faster Pullout in Afghanistan
Increasingly frustrated by his dealings with President Hamid Karzai, President Obama is giving serious consideration to speeding up the withdrawal of United States forces from Afghanistan and to a “zero option” that would leave no American troops there after next year, according to American and European officials.
Mr. Obama is committed to ending America’s military involvement in Afghanistan by the end of 2014, and Obama administration officials have been negotiating with Afghan officials about leaving a small “residual force” behind. But his relationship with Mr. Karzai has been slowly unraveling, and reached a new low after an effort last month by the United States to begin peace talks with the Taliban in Qatar.
Mr. Karzai promptly repudiated the talks and ended negotiations with the United States over the long-term security deal that is needed to keep American forces in Afghanistan after 2014.
More here
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“I wish Muslims across America & around the world a month blessed with the joys of family, peace & understanding.” —President Obama #Ramadan
— Barack Obama (@BarackObama) July 9, 2013
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Steve Benen: …. We’re left with a dynamic that the political establishment still finds difficult to fully grasp: GOP officials could make the federal health care system better and more to their liking, but they see no value in that. They’d rather sabotage it, regardless of the real-world consequences. They could help get rid of a mandate they oppose, but they’d rather keep the policy they hate in the hopes it won’t work, people will feel adverse consequences, and there will be new fodder for 30-second attack ads a year from now.
Some people pursue public service want to build things, and some pursue public service because they just want to watch things burn.
…. The most generous thing I can say about their approach is that it’s fundamentally unserious about helping anyone. The least generous thing I can say is probably inappropriate for a family-friendly blog.
Full post here
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Ezra Klein: Obamacare just got easier to implement, not harder
This hasn’t been a banner news week for Obamacare. But can it really be true, as my colleague Jennifer Rubin writes, that “Everyone now agrees: Obamacare can’t be implemented”?
Er, no.
I asked around …. Larry Levitt, vice president of the nonpartisan Kaiser Family Foundation: “….. If anything the delay removes some potential administrative complexities from the plates of the implementers……” …. Timothy Jost, a health law expert at Washington and Lee University’s School of Law, was even blunter. “Implementation just got easier rather than harder,” he said.
Well, so much for “everyone.”
As those interviews indicate, the thinking among health-care experts is closer to the precise opposite of Rubin’s bombastic headline: The Obama administration has decided to accept some bad media coverage now, and some higher costs later, in order to make Obamacare much, much simpler to implement next year…..
More here
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Steve Benen: On Friday, when he hoped no one was looking, Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker (R) approved sweeping new restrictions on reproductive rights, including a requirement that women receive a medically unnecessary ultrasound before terminating a pregnancy, and regulatory measures that would close half of the state’s abortion clinics.
The law was supposed to go into effect statewide yesterday. A federal court had other ideas…..
More here
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So proud to announce that I have joined the @BrownforMD team. Anthony will make an amazing governor. Join us. http://t.co/bZjIArBrCl
— Jim Messina (@Messina2012) July 8, 2013
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ThinkProgress: Sorry, Republicans, Your Own Investigation Proves No Dead People Voted In South Carolina….
South Carolina never found a single dead voter in recent elections. At least, that is the final word from the State Election Commission investigation into whether 900 people voted using a dead person’s name….
…. When Attorney General Alan Wilson demanded the original investigation, he cited “an alarming number” of cases reported by the DMV that “clearly necessitates an investigation into criminal activity.” ….
…. [This] will not prevent state Republicans from redoubling strict voter ID efforts, invigorated by the recent Supreme Court decision on the Voting Rights Act. In fact, Wilson celebrated the decision, calling the Voting Rights Act an “extraordinary intrusion” and pledging to implement voter ID ….
More here
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The secret weapon that could save the Voting Rights Act http://t.co/LnXWoobyOx
— TheRittenbergReport (@TheRReport) July 9, 2013
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ThinkProgress: Bush-Appointed Judge Slams Decision Striking Voting Rights Act — Court’s Reasoning Was ‘Made Up’
If a leading conservative scholar and former judge were now on the Supreme Court instead of Chief Justice Roberts or Justice Alito, it is likely that the Voting Right Act would remain intact.
Judge Michael McConnell was a leading conservative law professor at the time President George W. Bush named him to the United States Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit in 2002 …. McConnell was also widely viewed as a possible Supreme Court nominee during the Bush Administration.
In an interview with NPR’s Nina Totenberg, McConnell has harsh words for the five conservative justices’ recent decision neutering much of the Voting Rights Act — labeling the reasoning that drove that decision “made up.”
More here
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